NEEP Economists Predict Continued Slow Growth in New England; Housing Seen as Potential “Bright Spot” but Fiscal Cliff Showing Potential Impact

Fall Conference focuses on the New England economy post-election

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Some of the region’s top economists will present economic forecasts for the New England Region and each of the six New England states at the Fall Economic Outlook Conference hosted by the New England Economic Partnership (NEEP) and sponsored exclusively by The New England Council (NEC) Thursday, Dec. 6, from 9 AM – 2 PM at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

“We now know that there will be a ‘status quo’ in terms of our leadership in Congress and the White House. I look forward to hearing from the talented NEEP economists on what they believe this will mean for our economy here in New England.”

”For months, the business community has anxiously awaited the results of the election so that they would have a better sense of what to expect in terms of federal economic and budget policy in the year ahead,” said James T. Brett, President & CEO of The New England Council. “We now know that there will be a ‘status quo’ in terms of our leadership in Congress and the White House. I look forward to hearing from the talented NEEP economists on what they believe this will mean for our economy here in New England.”

The conference will begin with keynote remarks from Dr. Edward Friedman, a Director at Moody’s Analytics, who will provide an analysis of the current outlook for the U.S. economy. Following Dr. Friedman’s remarks, the NEEP forecast managers for each state will present their forecasts for the New England region and each of the six states. The conference will conclude with a panel discussion focused on the post-election moderated by Jim Brett of the New England Council. Questions will be posed to Dr. Friedman and the NEEP forecast managers by members of the New England media, including Jon Chesto of the Boston Business Journal, Robert Whitcomb of the Providence Journal, and Mark Murphy of the Providence Business News.

In their forecasts, the NEEP economists predict that New England will continue to experience slow growth and slow recovery of the jobs lost in the recent recession. The economists cite the weakness in global and U.S. economic conditions as the reason for this slow growth, and not that both the U.S. and New England economies are affected by concerns about the potential implications of the fiscal cliff in the U.S. and the influence of the weak European economy and sovereign debt crisis. The economists, do, however, predict that the housing market could emerge as a relative bright spot in the economy with rising home prices bolstering the construction industry and related industries including retailers selling home supplies, landscapers and cable providers. The economists also suggest that regional median housing prices are expected to increase, albeit modestly.

**Executive Summaries of the US and New England States economic forecasts will be released at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 5 at http://www.newenglandcouncil.com/neep-december-2012-economic-outlook-forecasts/.

**Forecast managers from the states listed below will be available for a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Dec. 5 to discuss their forecasts and answer questions. Call times and call-in information are as follows:

Massachusetts and New England:
Wednesday, December 5 at 9:00 a.m.
Call-in number 866-299-9141, participant code 47115221

Forecast presented by:
Alan Clayton-Matthews
Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, and Economics Department
Northeastern University
[e-mail]

Connecticut:
Wednesday, December 5 at 10:00 a.m.
Call-in number 866-299-9141, participant code 47115221

Forecast presented by:
Edward J. Deak, Ph.D.
Connecticut Model Manager, New England Economic Partnership
Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Fairfield University
[e-mail]

Rhode Island:
For media conference call information please contact:

Edward M. Mazze
Distinguished University Professor of Business Administration
College of Business Administration, The University of Rhode Island
[e-mail]

Edinaldo Tebaldi
Associate Professor of Economics
Department of Economics, Bryant University
[e-mail]

New Hampshire and New England:
Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at 11:00 a.m.
Call-in number: 866-210-1669, participant code 7746932

Forecast presented by:
Dennis Delay
New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies
[e-mail]

Maine
For media conference call information please contact:

Charles S. Colgan
Professor of Public Policy & Management
Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine
[e-mail]

Vermont
For media conference call information please contact:

Jeffrey B. Carr, President
Economic & Policy Resources, Inc.
[e-mail]

Robert A. Chase, Senior Economist
Economic and Policy Resources